Prompt 16 Future of Books and Reading

Reading has become more enjoyable for me as an adult.  I do remember having my nose in books as a kid, however, I don’t ever remember finishing a book until I graduated from college.  I love books and being around books.  Books have changed forms from when I was a kid.  Now days books are more than just paperback or hardback.  They come on CDs, audiobooks, or ebooks.  Beside reading books in the paper form, I enjoy listening to the books from audiobooks.

In the future I see books basically staying the same.  Some will come in paper form, some will be in ebooks, there will be audiobooks, and other forms that may be on the horizon.  I can see that reading may be going backwards to where not everyone is able to read or they don’t want to read, especially in poverty areas.  I would hope that this would not happen. 

Prompt Response - Marketing Fiction- Week 15

There are several ways to effectively market a library’s fiction section.  One of the ways I like is to use a book display.  Creative book displays can easily grab patron’s attention and show them some of the things the library has to offer.  “A book display consisting of a small group of books and a descriptive sign is one of the most effective ways to promote and market parts of our collections.” (Saricks)

              

Another marketing idea that I like is to put short annotations of books on the Library’s web page, Facebook page, or library newsletters.  Saricks states, “Good annotations should be both informative and inviting.”

A third way of marketing fiction books would be through introducing them in a book club.   I think book clubs not only introduces you to fiction books they also introduce you to fiction writers. You may be introduced to only one book/author a month, however that author may have written more books for you to read and share with others.

Resource:

Saricks, J. (2005) Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160.

Prompt response - Shelving fiction genres

Should all fiction books be shelved together or should libraries group books according to genres?  I personally can see both sides of the issue and notice the pros and cons.  However, for this post I’ll take the side of keeping all the fiction in one group without separating certain genres.  Here are some pros that I have found while doing reading on this issue.

1.       If you have books separated into genres, combining all fiction books together saves shelf space if you need more room. (Lyttle & Walsh, 2015)

2.       Some authors believe that having African American Fiction shelved as a group of its own is a form of rasism. (Jenisin, 2010)

3.       Benefit of general fiction section without dividing into genres is the ability to browse all available books by a single author in one place even if they write across genres. (Hana, 2015)

4.       Readers maybe attracted to another title (genre) which they would not normally seek out. (Montana State Library, 2018)

5.       It can be difficult to determine what genre a book is from. (Montana State Library, 2018)

I agree with all of the above statements.  I personally like having all of the books in one general group divided by authors last names.  I do think that it might be better if there were labels on the books to tell what genre the books are.  I know that this may be just as difficult as separating out the different genres due to some books ability to be more than one genre. 

References:

Hana (2018). The great debate: When it comes to fiction, would you rather…  Retrieved from https://denverlibrary.org/blog/hana/great-debate-when-it-comes-fiction-would-you-rather

Jenisin, N.K. (2010). Don’t put my book in the African American section. Retrieved from http://nkjemisin.com/2010/05/dont-put-my-book-in-the-african-american-section/

Lyttle, M.A. & Walsh, S.D. (2015). Separate or keep together? Public Libraries Online. Retrieved from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/05/separate-or-keep-together/

Montana State Library (2018). Organizing your collection.  Retrieved from http://libraries.msl.mt.gov/consulting/online_publications/newlibrarydirectorshandbook/technicalservices/organizing   

Prompt Response - YA and NA books

PROMPT: Though this week's group of "genres" all seem very different, they all have in common the fact that many people don't feel that they are legitimate literary choices and libraries shouldn't be spending money on them or promoting them to adults. The common belief is that adults still don't or shouldn't read that stuff. How can we as librarians, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels? Or should we? I can't wait to read your thoughts on this. Thanks!

RESPONSE: I would say that Young Adult (YA) and New Adult (NA) books are just as interesting as other genres.  I believe that adults should read YA and NA books.  I don’t think that the ones that don’t like these genres keep other people from reading them.  Like it’s been said, “A book for every reader, every read a book.”  It is our job as librarians to encourage people to read whatever they want and not limit the age group to some books because someone doesn’t want you to read it.  Maybe we could have some passive programming going on that promotes these genres.  If not programs, maybe displays of these genres.  I personally enjoy reading these books and I know of other adults who do also. 

Book Annotation - Young Adult

    Fallen by Lauren Kate

Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy

Publication Date: 2010

Number of pages: 480 pages

Geographical setting: Savannah, Georgia

Series: Fallen Book Series

Plot Summary:

17-year-old Luce is sent to a reformatory school in Georgia after being in a fire where only her hair was singed, but her boyfriend died.  While at Sword & Cross, she falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy named Daniel.  Daniel does everything he can to deep Luce away, however, all his efforts keep drawing her closer.  Cam is the boy who loves Luce and wants her for his own.  Daniel and Cam are more than mere boys, they are also fallen angles, as are most of the students at Sword & Cross unbeknown to Luce and her friend, Penn, the only other human there.

Subject Headings:  Social & Family issues, Romance, Paranormal. Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

Appeal: evolving, compelling, foreboding

Pace: As in reading a fantasy book, Fallen, starts out slow but increases the action increases.

Setting: The setting is a reformatory high school where things are not always what they seem.

Story Line: The story line features good versus evil.

Characters: Most of the characters are teenage high school students.

Tone/Mood: The mood is foreboding for much of the books.

3 Read-Alike Books

1.       Evernight by Claudia Gray

2.       Fade by Lisa McMann

3.       The Haunting by Jessica Verday

Prompt - Non-Fiction

        Hearts of Fire by the Voice of the Martyrs

1.       Where is the book on the narrative continuum?

High. The book is written in story form.

2.       What is the subject of the book?

8 women who were persecuted for their faith in Christ Jesus.

3.       What type of book is it?

Biography

4.       Articulate Appeal

a.       What is the pacing?

Fast pace, fast page-turner

b.       Describe the characters.

All 8 Christian women are from non-Christian countries in Europe or Asia. All of them are willing to lose all they have to keep their faith in God.

c.       How does the story feel?

The stories go from feeling oppressive to feeling hopeful.

d.       What is the intent of the author?

To show that God is with those who believe in him eve in their darkest moments.

e.       What is the focus of the story?

It tells the story of 8 women who lost most everything because they were Christians.  It tells how they kept their faith through difficult trials and how God was always with them.

f.         Does the language matter?

Yes, the language matters.  Written in a different style would change the whole focus and mood of the stories.

g.       Is the setting important and well described?

Yes, the setting is important. Each story takes place in a non-Christian country (Indonesia, Bhutan, Russia, Romania, Pakistan, China, Indian, Vietnam).  If the setting changed to a Christian country, these stories would not have happened.

h.       Are there details, and, if so, of what?

Yes, there are details of how each woman became a Christian, what persecution they went through, and how God help them through this time of trials, and s little bit of how they are living now (if they are still living).

i.         Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?

There are no charts or other graphic materials.

j.         Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experiences?

This book is all about experiences that the women had and about their learning to lean on and trusting God more.

5.       Why would a reader enjoy this book?

1.       Characters

2.       Experiences

3.       Settings

Ebooks & Audiobooks

There is nothing better than holding a book in your hands read to begin reading.  The ability to flip through the pages, or the smell of it can bring back memories of other books or the joy of just holding a book.   Some people would agree with me that this feeling can not be replaced with the ebooks and/or audiobooks.  I have read ebooks and probably will in the future.  They are okay to read when I don’t have a book around to read.  I find it hard to not be able to flip through the book and see how many pages I have left to read in a chapter or in a book.  I do like the idea that I can read the book in the dark and not bother others with turning on a light to read.  I also like to be able to change the font size.

Audiobooks have me more excited than ebooks.  I’ve always enjoyed being read to.  I need a narrator who changes voices for the characters, someone who is not monotone, and someone who uses voice inflections where needed.  Some readers/audiences have favorite narrators, which is okay.  I tend listen to more genres than if I were to read the books themselves.  I think that if someone else is doing the reading I’ll enjoy the book more than if I were reading it.  I enjoy audiobooks anywhere at most times. 

Book Annotation - Western

   High Lonesome by: Louis L’Amour

Genre: Western

Publication Date: 1962

Number of pages: 183

Geographic Setting: Arizona territory

Time Period: Historic

Plot Summary: Considine is considered one of the best gunmen in the West.  He and a group of 3 men were headed toward Obaro to break into the bank and settle an old score.  On the way to Obaro, they run into a man and his daughter who are headed to California.  To get to California, you have to travel through Apache land.  Considine must decide to either go to Obaro to settle a long-held grudge or to go with the man to help keep him and his daughter safe.

Subject Headings: Apache Indians, Courage in men, Outlaws, Regret in men, Revenge, Thieves

Appeal: Descriptive, historical, realistic

Frame/Setting:

Landscape dominates Westerns.  Readers are taken back to a time and place in which life is set against a dangerous, but beautiful backdrop.

Characterization:

The classic hero is a loner, who rides throughout the land, never to settle down to start a family.

Story Line:

Common themes include redemptive power of the West, the difficulties surviving in a harsh landscape, revenge, and lack of law along with the necessity of creating just laws.

Pacing:

The creation of mythic elements in character, description, and plot may slow the pacing, while action certainly increases the speed at which we read the novels.

3 Read A Likes:
Cotton, R.W. (2011). Lawman from Nogales. Berkley
Champlin, T. (1985). Shadow Catcher. Ballatine Books.
McMurtry, L. (1993). Streets of Laredo. Simon & Schuster.

Book Club Observation

The Reading Circle meets at Kennedy Library in Muncie, Indiana, the second Tuesday of every month from 12 to 1 PM.  You can bring your lunch and something to drink.  I was told that there is someone there who always brings something to share and today someone had brought in chili and cookies to share with everyone.  They sit around tables that are in a square shape so that everyone is able to see each other.  There were 15 people in attendance.  

The book that they were taking about this month is Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult.  To start off the conversation the leader, an adult service librarian, asked the question: How do you feel about the change in Turk from joining the White Supremist to in the end of the book getting out of the White Supremist?  From this time on, the leader only had to speak once or twice more during this time.  This group of people where talking about the book nonstop.  They would bring in personal experiences into some of the comments they were making.  There were several participants who came with note they had from the book or questions they wanted to ask the rest of the group.  Everyone participated.   The one item they wished for this club meeting was they wish that there would have been a variety of races there to share about the book since one theme of the book is about race relations.  This meeting was ran smoothly even when the participants would disagree with each other, they all remained civil.  I think that this group could have ran itself even with out having a ‘leader’.  To end the meeting, the library handed out the book for the next reading circle meeting.

This book is not normally a book that I would choose to read for myself.  I had only read ¾ of the book before I had arrived at the meeting.  I felt like I could return the book to the library without finishing it and not caring about not have finished reading.  After leaving the meeting I felt like, great, now I need to finish the rest of the book, so I can see what’s going to happen.

Special Paper- Book Awards

BOOK AWARDS! 
There are A LOT of book awards out there. However there is not a lot written about the book awards.  There is no general history about book awards so I can't tell you when all of the award craze first started as I had planned.  What I did write about were different awards.  I know when they started, what they were given for, what the prize is, and more- if that information was available.  I searched about 45 awards and settled on the following 13 awards.  Here are their names and what they are given for:

• Agatha Award - traditional mystery
• Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction - any book that guides adults to select quality reading material.
• Anisfield-Wolf Book Award - Books with focus on racism and diversity
• Bram Stoker Award - Horror
• The Center for Fiction: First Novel Prize - fiction
• Edgar Award - mystery, crime, suspense, and intrigue fiction
• Goodread's Choice Award - readers' choice in 20 categories
• National Book Award - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, YA
• Neustadt Prize - International award -poetry, fiction, drama
• Nobel Prize in Literature - Outstanding lifetime Work in Literature
• PEN/Hemingway Award - debut novel or book of short stories
• Pulitzer Prize - journalism, letters and drama, education, poetry, music, photography
• RITA Awards - romance

(To read more about these awards go to the following blog:

http://maryshafer.doodlekit.com/blog)

Week 7 Prompt Response

For our prompt this week, I want you to think about fake memoirs, author mills (James Patterons), and celebrity inspired book clubs. Basically write a readers' response to one of the articles you are reading for this week (see syllabus or links in this post for readings) - or talk about a time when a book or author that made headlines affected you personally or your work 

I'm choosing to talk about celebrity book clubs: "Numerous celebrities have decided to encourage reading by becoming bookstagrammers or launching their own online book club."  I say if it calls for a certain celebrity to start a book club to get people involved and interested in reading then let's get them involved.  Reading is an important life long skill people need.  I believe that celebrities are in an unique place of being a role model  and their reading and book clubs have the opportunity to reach a lot of people who may otherwise not e interested in books and reading.  These celebrities maybe getting some kind of 'payment' (more followers to their book clubs, money, etc.) for sharing their reading, however I think if they didn't enjoy reading they wouldn't be out there promoting it. So, I say, bring on the celebrities who want to start book clubs and promote reading, I'll let them do it all day long.

• Liao, Angela. (2017) Celebrity Book Clubs Create Virtual Reading Community. Retrieved from https://www.bookstr.com/celebrity-book-clubs-create-virtual-reading-community

Mystery Book Annotation

 In the Bleak Midwinter by: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Genre: Mystery
Publication Date: 2002
Number of Pages: 556
Geographical Settings: Millers Kill, New York, Adirondack Mountains
Time Period: Contemporary
Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Novels

Plot Summary: Clare Fergusson is at he new priest at St. Alban when a new baby is left on the steps of the church.  Clare and the police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, search for the baby's mother.  During the search, town secrets keep coming to light.  Some of the secrets lead to murders and attempted murders.  Is this the work of one person or different people? Is the baby's mother ever found? As Clare's and Russ's friendship grows so does the urgency to find the murder(s).

Subject Heading: Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.) - Fiction
New York (State) - Fiction
Police chiefs - fiction
Episcopalians - fiction
Women clergy - fiction

Appeal - believable, captivating, engaging

Characteristics of Mysteries:
Story Line: The solving of a crime, usually murder drives the plot.  Detective and reader understand "whodunit" and why by the book's conclusion.
Characterization: Investigator or investigative team is the focus.  In this book, Priest Clare and Chief Russ are the team.
Frame/Setting: The frame in which the story is set play a crucial role in its appeal.   Here we are in Millers Kill, NY., a small city, and also in the Adirondack Mountains.
Tone/Mood: Ranges from dark and gritty to lighthearted and witty.  Spencer-Fleming is offering a thoughtful side to this gritty, edgy book.
Pacing: is relentless and compelling, sometimes slowed by details of time and places but always moving towards a solution.

3 Read a likes:
The Crossing Place by Elly Griffiths - suspenseful, mystery, compelling writing
All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark - suspenseful, abandoned baby, mystery
Crooked Heart by Cristina Summers: Mystery, suspenseful, compelling, Police chief, clergy woman.

Integrated Advisory - Horror

I'd like to set up a passive program for patrons to vote for their favorite Horror book(s).  On a rectangle table in the adult section of the library, have about 8 books (with their audio books or DVDs) sitting out with a small box in front of them.  At the head of the table have the Title sign read "Which stories scared your socks off?".  In front of the sign have a box with chips (round colored of pieced of paper) that patrons can take and put in the box(es) of the books that they would like to vote for.  Leave the voting up for about a week and on the second week display the books in order of the winning votes.

Kirkus Review

     Dare  Macintosh rescues Molly Alexander and tries to help her figure out who had her kidnapped and why.  All the while they're fighting their feelings for each other.

Mercenary Dare Macintosh rescues Molly Alexander while rescuing the sister of his est friend from human traffickers.  However, Molly is there for another reason.  Molly decides not to go to the police, she decides to hire Dare to help her find out who had her taken and why.  While at Walmart there is another attempt to capture her, but Dare is there to keep her safe.  Dare has just decided this assignment has just become personal.  He takes Molly to the safety of his house where he and/or his assistant Chris can keep an eye on her.  Molly starts writing her next best seller while Dare looks into her father's where abouts. Dare and Molly decide to go back to Molly's house to find more clues, where everything began. While at her house, Molly's sister and boyfriend meet up with them.  Dare rules them out as suspects.  Dare and  Molly make a meeting with Molly's dad and mother-in-law to get more questions answered.  Dare and Molly make it back to Dare's house in time to have a show down with some unsavory characters and find the answers to the questions they've been asking.

Dare and Molly are both believable characters that draw you into their world of romance and suspense.

Week 5 Prompt Response

      I believe Ebooks deserve to be reviewed just as much as printed books.  I also believe all books should be review the same no matter if the author is a big name writer or not.   I think if a book gets more reviews the library collections is going to buy that book before the lesser known book.  I think the person(s) doing the collection development needs to be careful not to get heavy into one specific genre.  So they need to be reading or looking at several different review sources.
     A blog review and an Amazon review can both be reliable.  I believe when someone takes the time to sit down and write how they feel about something - in this case a book - they are going to be truthful.  I think these reviews can give the librarian an idea of what a library patron will think of the book when they read it.  If I was looking for this genre of book to add to my collection I'd probably buy it.
     Just by reading the reviews about Angela Ashes, makes me think this would be a book I personally wouldn't enjoy.  However that being said, the reviews did say it is a book for all ages, so I'm thinking it'll have appeal to a wide range of people.  I did look up some reviews on GoodRead and found most people gave it a favorable rating.  There were a couple not so favorable, but that's to be expected because not everyone likes the same books.  I would probably add this book to the library collections well.
     I don't think it's fair that one type of book gets reviewed to death and another type gets no coverage.   I believe if a librarian is not too careful in building the collection and only goes with books that get covered, the collection will soon become too heavy in the covered genres while other genres may slip into nothingness.  I think places that print reviews need to give equal billing to both the positive and negative reviews.  Not everyone likes the same books.  As for myself I need the two review types to get a better idea of what a book may really be like before I read it.  I don't buy books for the library.  For my personal reading reviews I like GoodRead, Amazon, and BookPage.  I don't put a lot of stock into reviews, but I like to read them to see what other people think.

Romantic Suspense Annotation

        True Devotion by Dee Henderson

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publication Date: 2000

Number of Pages: 470 (large Print)

Geographical Setting: Coronado, California

Time: Current

Series: Uncommon Heroes

Plot: Kelly Jacobs is a lifeguard in Coronado. California.  She's drowning while trying to save the life of a teen boy, only to be saved by her best friend, Navy SEAL Joe ‘Bear’ Baker.  Can Kelly and Joe get over the pain of losing Nick, Kelly’s husband, to find a love of their own?  Besides working on a relationship, Joe’s trying to find the person responsible for stealing military arms and ultimately the one who killed Nick.  Will Joe handle both events or will the stress make him compromise one?

Subject Headings: United States SEALS, widows, second chances, forgiveness

Appeal: fast-paced, engaging, suspenseful

Characteristics of Romantic Suspense:

Pacing: Pacing is crucial, there is enough action to move the story quickly.  Identification with the protagonist and her plight, the desire to unravel the mystery behind events, as well as building suspense, make these page-turners.

Characterization: Point of view is key. The story is told from the threatened heroine's point of view.  Although other points of view are represented, the heroine remains the central character.

Story Line: Romantic elements are as intense and important as the suspense.

Tone/Mood: There is always a sense of uneasiness, even in quieter moments within the story.

Frame/Setting: Most of these novels feature contemporary settings.  Intriguing, detailed backgrounds often frame these stories.

Language: smart dialogue and witty repartee.

Secret Shopper

The Event: 

I walked up to the reference desk and said, “I have a few hours, days to relax and was wondering if you could recommend a good book for me to read?”

                The librarian said, “Oh, uhm, okay.  What type of books do you like to read?”

                I answered, “I like mysteries and romances.  Sometimes I read suspense.”
                He thought for a second, then got up and started walking through the new book section.  He said, “I’m thinking something by Evanovich.  I thought she had something new, but I don’t see it.  Evanovich has some mystery with a bit of romance thrown into it.  Have you ever read anything y Evanovich?”

                “I’ve read a couple of her books,” I replied. 

                “Have you read any of her Plum stuff?  She was the first one that popped into my head,” he continued.  “Her older stuff is just as good I heard.  I personally haven’t read anything from her.” He walked me to the Evanovich books and handed me One of the Money.  “You don’t always have to start with the first one, but it’s a good place to start.”

                “Thank you,” I said.  I turned the book over to read the back of the book.

                He turned away and headed back to his reference desk.  After he left, I realized, this is the one book of Evanovich that I have read.

ANYALSIS:

The librarian didn’t use any tools to help him choose a book.  He made an okay pick for me, however I’m not a fan of Evanovich.  I think if he would have asked a couple more questions he would have found that out and maybe given me a different choice.  The book he did give me just happened to be the one I’ve read before.  I should have said so but didn’t.

                This shop was not what I was expecting.  I thought there would be more questions for me to answer.  I thought he’d use some type of tool to help him, either a book or a website.  I did expect more conversation between the two of us.  However, that could be lacking because of me not expanding my answers to his questions.  I also thought that he might have given me 2 or 3 book/author choices instead of just the one. 

                For the most part, I guess that I was looking for what Joyce Saricks says on page 5, “Most readers appreciate the conversation and the process more than a quick answer.  Readers want us to listen and help them explore.”  I was looking for that conversation about books that didn’t really happen.  Quick answers are what I felt I got and a rush of the process is what I felt was happening. 

                “Recommending is saying, ‘Take this book; it is good for you.’ Suggesting makes us partners with readers in exploring the various directions they might want to pursue.” (Saricks, pg2) This interaction was all recommending.  Maybe I should have said suggest a book instead of recommend a book at the beginning of the conversation.  I wonder if that would have made any difference?

                I might go back and try getting a different response from a different librarian.  I should be more explanatory in my answers to help get a better book recommendation.

Reference

Saricks, J. (2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: American Library Association.

Week Three Prompt Response.

1.      I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!

The 4^th book of the Anita Blake series is Lunatic Café. I went to Novelist and entered Laurell K. Hamilton.  When I got to the list of books I went to the 2^nd book and hit the link to the vampire series.  The link took me to the list of book in order for this series.

2.      What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.

I looked up Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver to see what the language style was: Descriptive, lush, lyrical. Along the edge of the page it listed some books that are read alikes so I made sure my choses have the same language.  I would suggest the following: Anthill by Edward O. Wilson and The History of Bees by Maja Lunde.

3.      I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

I entered Japan and historical setting in to the search boxes.  I read the list of books until I came to one that was in a series.  The following is what I came up with: I.J. Parker’s Sugawara Akitada mysteries: The Dragon Scroll (bk 1) or Liam Hearn’s Across the Nightingale Floor, Tales of the Otori (Book 1).

4.      I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?  

I looked up the book by author and title.  Along the right side is a list of read alikes.  I went with Roseanna by Maj Sjowall because they both have detectives from Scotland Yard. I also chose Still Life by Louise Penny because they are both leisurely reads and character-driven.

5.      My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?
I looked up zombies under the genre of science fiction.  I choose the following: Z by Michael Thomas Ford and Rot & Ruin (Benny Imural, bk 1) by Jonathan Maberry.

6.      I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.

This time I looked up the books using Google & goodreads.  First I googled books into movies after 2013.  I got a list of books to look up from goodreads and chose these books from there: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

7.      I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

In NoveList, I entered thriller for the genre, fast-paced and clean also in the search boxes.  I came up with the following books: Clean Kill by Jack Coughlin and Rain Fall by Barry Eisler.

For myself I usually look up books using goodreads, Google, or Amazon.  I will enter the subject of what I want like cozy mystery list of books in google and then a link to goodreads will usually be the first or second link to choose.  If I know the title or the author, I’ll go straight to goodreads or Amazon and enter the information.  Right now I don’t work at a library so I do not look up books for others.  When I do start working in a library I hope they have Novelist because I can see where it will be a helpful tool to have.